Goods holder having two signal-producing means

ABSTRACT

A goods holder, on which a plurality of goods can be arranged one behind the other in a movable manner, in such a way that a front good of a row of goods arranged one behind the other can be moved in the direction of a front end of the goods holder and can be removed from the goods holder at said front end. The goods holder having at least one displaceably supported signal-producing means, which can be displaced as a result of a movement of a frontmost good in the direction of the front end and triggers the production of a removal signal in the event of a displacement in order to indicate a removal of the good from the good holder. Two displaceably supported signal-producing means are provided on the goods holder.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a National Phase patent application of InternationalPatent Application Number PCT/EP2015/076059, filed on Nov. 9, 2015,which claims priority of German Patent Application Number 10 2014 225067.6, filed on Dec. 5, 2014.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a goods holder.

A goods holder, for example in the form of a rack hook, permits thearrangement of several goods arranged movably one behind the other, forexample in a retail business, in order to present the goods in anattractive manner and to keep them ready for a customer to removeeasily. The individual goods are movably arranged on the goods holder,for example hung thereon, wherein a front good of a row of goodsarranged one behind the other is movable in the direction of a front endof the goods holder and can be removed from the goods holder at thisfront end of the latter.

For theft prevention and for stock monitoring, it is already known toprovide such goods holders with electronics, via which a removal of agood from the goods holder is detectable. For example, a displaceablymounted signal-producing means can be provided in a goods holder, whichmeans is displaceable when a frontmost good is displaced in thedirection of the front end and, during a displacement, triggers theproduction of a removal signal, via which a removal of the goods is thendisplayed by the goods holder. Such a signal-producing means can beimplemented, for example, in the form of a pivotably mounted swingingarm. Via such a swinging arm, it is also possible to achieve thesituation where only ever a single good but not several goods can beremoved simultaneously from the goods holder. Such a solution is known,for example from WO 2006/061009 A1.

With such a goods holder, it is for example easily possible to drawconclusions about an atypical removal pattern and therefore a potentialattempt at theft, by using removal signals that are produced. Withregard to stock or level monitoring, however, it is regularlydisadvantageous that a statement about the current level, i.e. the goodskept ready on the goods holder, is not possible merely on the basis ofthe removal signals. For example, a removal signal is also produced whena good previously removed by a customer is arranged on the goods holderagain or is topped up by the staff. If such a goods holder is also setup to acknowledge each removal of a good acoustically by means of aswinging arm, the return of a good by a customer or the filling of thegoods holder with new goods by the sales staff also produces acousticfeedback. This is likewise felt to be disadvantageous.

In a goods holder known from WO 2010/094778 A1, in order to solve thisproblem it is proposed to monitor the displacement movement of a goodsfeed, by means of which goods arranged on the goods holder are urged inthe direction of a front end of the goods holder. Here, via contactsprovided on a circuit board, in the event of a displacement of the feed,sequences of displacement signals that are distinguishable from oneanother are produced, depending on whether the goods feed is displacedin the direction of the front end or in the displacement directionopposite thereto. Although this solution is extremely effective andexpedient, it always assumes the use of a feed unit and is therefore notsuitable for all applications with regard to size and costs.

SUMMARY

The invention is therefore based on the object of overcoming theaforementioned disadvantages and of providing a goods holder which isimproved from this point of view, without having to use a feed unit.

This object is achieved by a goods holder with features as describedherein.

Here, a goods holder according to the invention has two displaceablymounted signal-producing means which, in the event of a movement of afrontmost good in the direction of the front end, are displaced oneafter the other so that as a result preferably successively at least tworemoval signals are triggered.

As a result of the production of different removal signals by twosignal-producing means which, in the event of a movement of a frontmostgood in the direction of the front end of the goods holder, needed forthe removal, are displaced one after the other, it is in particularpossible to distinguish the removal of a good from the return of a goodand from topping up the goods holder. Thus, for example, during removalof a good, a first signal-producing means is displaced first and then asecond signal-producing means. By contrast, during the return of a good,the second signal-producing means is displaced first and then the firstsignal-producing means.

In an exemplary embodiment, the signal-producing means are pivotablymounted on the goods holder, for example about a common pivot axis orabout two separate pivot axes. Here, a pivot axis can be defined, forexample, by a circularly cylindrical mounting element of the goodsholder, on which the signal-producing means are each pivotably mounted.Such a mounting element is provided, for example in the form of acylindrical pin on the goods holder.

In an exemplary embodiment, the signal-producing means each have acontrol section, past which a good must be led as its moved in thedirection of the front end and on which the good to be moved actshereby, so that a displacement movement is forced on thesignal-producing means by the good led past. Thus, for example in adesign variant for a rack hook, provision is made that a good held andmovably arranged thereon must be moved past convexly curved controlsections of the signal-producing means to be removed, so that the goodpulled in the direction of the front end moves and/or pivots thesignal-producing means as a result of the action on the curved controlsections. The associated displacement of the signal-producing means isdetected electronically and in each case triggers a removal signal.

In a development, the goods holder with its signal-producing means isformed in such a way that the good to be removed, as it is moved in thedirection of the front end, acts with a region on the respective controlsection on which the good is held on the goods holder, preferablysuspended.

In an exemplary embodiment, the control sections of the signal-producingmeans are offset in relation to each other along a removal direction,along which a frontmost good to be removed is moved to the front end ofthe goods holder. The control sections are thus located one afteranother with respect to the removal direction, so that the good to beremoved acts on the latter with a time offset when the good is movedtoward the front.

Alternatively or additionally, the signal-producing means can bearranged beside each other transversely with respect to a removaldirection. The signal-producing means can thus be provided in aspace-saving manner on the goods holder. In a design variant, thesignal-producing means are formed in such a way that these are arrangedbeside one another but the control sections thereof are located oneafter another with reference to the removal direction. For example, forthis purpose two swinging arms of different sizes are provided assignal-producing means, or two identically formed swinging arms areprovided beside each other but offset somewhat in relation to each otherin the removal direction.

To trigger a removal signal during displacement of a signal-producingmeans, the goods holder has at least two reed contacts, by means ofwhich two removal signals can be produced during the displacement of thesignal-producing means. For example, the signal-producing means can eachhave a reed contact or a magnet interacting with a reed contact.

In a design variant, the goods holder is additionally equipped with aseparating mechanism, which ensures the goods can be removed only singlyfrom the goods holder. For the function of the separating mechanism, itis primarily critical that simultaneous movement of several goods towardthe front end of the goods holder is hereby prevented. Via theseparating mechanism, however, it is possible to prevent a further,following good also from being moved as far as the front end of thegoods holder, as long as a frontmost good has not yet been removed fromthe goods holder. Since only ever individual goods can be removed fromthe goods holder one after another, the risk of thefts of greaterquantities of goods is considerably reduced, since it is not possiblefor several goods to be moved simultaneously toward the front end andremoved from the goods holder.

In an exemplary embodiment, at least one signal-producing means is alsopart of such a separating mechanism. Thus, the signal-producing meanscan be displaceable by a frontmost good moved in the direction of thefront end of the goods holder from a release position to a blockingposition, wherein the signal-producing means in the blocking positionthen prevents a new movement of a good arranged behind the frontmostgood in the direction of the front end. In its blocking position, thesignal-producing means consequently blocks the new movement andtherefore also the simultaneous movement of several goods in thedirection of the front end of the goods holder. In a variant, thesignal-producing means has a blocking section for this purpose, which,in the blocking position, projects in such a way that a good cannot bemoved over the blocking section toward the front end of the goodsholder. Here, the signal-producing means in its blocking positionprojects into a displacement path of the goods and, for example,projects at right angles to the removal direction, so that goods cannotbe moved over the latter in the direction of the front end. Thus, forexample, goods are usually movably suspended on a goods holder by anopening provided in a goods package. In the blocking position, thesignal-producing means with its blocking section projects so far atright angles to the removal direction that the projection of theblocking section exceeds the height of the opening in the goods package,and thus movement past the blocking section is not possible withoutdestruction of the goods package.

In a design variant based thereon, a signal-producing means in itsrelease position projects with a convexly curved control section on anunderside of a goods holder while, in the blocking position, a blockingsection of the signal-producing means projects on an upper side of thegoods holder. If a good is moved forward along the control sectiontoward the front end of the goods holder, the good urges thesignal-producing means in the direction of the upper side of the goodsholder. By means of a movable or pivotable mounting of thesignal-producing means, the blocking section is hereby urged (moreintensely) out of the upper side of the goods holder, so that theblocking section prevents any further good from being moved in thedirection of the front end as long as the frontmost good is acting onthe control section of the signal-producing means and has not yet beenremoved from the goods holder.

In an exemplary embodiment, at least two signal-producing means areprovided, which are each displaceable between a release position and ablocking position. Thus at least two signal-producing means are part ofa separating mechanism. Since at least two signal-producing means thatare each displaceable into a blocking position are provided, ultimatelythere are at least two mechanical obstacles which prevent simultaneousremoval of several goods from the goods holder.

In principle, it is preferred for the signal-producing means to permitboth movement and removal of a good and filling of the goods holder withadditional goods and/or pushing a good back within the context of areturn. Accordingly, for example a signal-producing means which is partof a separating mechanism is also formed and displaceably mounted on thegoods holder in such a way that, during the filling of the goods holderand/or a return of a good, a good can be moved over the signal-producingmeans in the direction of a rear end of the goods holder.

Furthermore, an electronic evaluation unit is preferably provided, bymeans of which, by using the triggered removal signals, it is possibleto evaluate the direction in which a good has been moved. Such anelectronic evaluation unit is preferably integrated in the goods holder.Consequently, the goods holder with the evaluation unit and an outputdevice coupled thereto for the output of an acoustically and/or visuallyperceptible goods removal signal, e.g. with a loudspeaker, a lightand/or display, can form an autonomous structural unit, which isfunctional without further cabling and in this way can simply be mountedon a (rack) wall. Of course, an electronic evaluation unit can alsoalternatively or additionally be arranged separately from a holdingsection of the goods holder on which the goods are movably held. Then,for example, an interface for a connecting cable to the evaluation unitcan be provided on the holding section, or such a connecting cable canbe integrated, in order to transmit the removal signals to theevaluation unit.

Here, the evaluation unit is preferably set up to produce anacoustically and/or visually perceptible goods removal signal if, byusing the received removal signals, it has been detected that goods havebeen removed from the goods holder. If, on the other hand, on the basisof the removal signals received from the evaluation unit, it isestablished that goods have been displaced past the two signal-producingmeans in the direction of the rear end, no goods removal signal isproduced. In this way, a removal sound, which indicates the removal of agood from the goods holder acoustically and/or visually, is alsoactually produced only in the event of the removal of a good.

Consequently, in this variant, the removal signals from thesignal-producing means are assessable by the evaluation unit but theremoval signals cannot be perceived visually and/or acoustically.Whether ultimately a different and/or acoustically perceptible goodsremoval signal is produced for this purpose, ultimately depends on thesequence of the removal signal that is produced and consequently on anassessment of the evaluation unit, which produces such a goods removalsignal only when goods have actually been moved in the direction of thefront end and removed from the goods holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages and features of the invention can be gathered fromthe exemplary embodiments explained below by using the appended figures.

FIGS. 1A-1D show, in different views, an exemplary embodiment of a goodsholder according to the invention having two pivotably mounted swingingarms as signal-producing means.

FIGS. 2A-2E show different phases of a removal of a frontmost good fromthe goods holder from FIGS. 1A-1D and the displacement movements of thetwo swinging arms that result here.

FIGS. 3A-3C show a further exemplary embodiment of a goods holderaccording to the invention in different phases during the removal of afrontmost good and with the displacement movements that result here oftwo pivotably mounted swinging arms as signal-producing means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A to 1D show in different views a goods holder 1 in the form of arack hook. The goods holder 1 has an elongated, here rod-like, holdingsection 10, on which goods can be arranged movably one behind the other.Here, the individual goods are pushed onto the goods holder 1 over afront end of the goods holder 1. For this purpose, each good carries onits goods package an appropriate dimensioned opening O, through whichthe holding section 10 can reach.

At its rear end, the goods holder 1 is to be fixed as intended to a(rack) wall via a fixing point 11 of the holding section 10. At theopposite front end of the goods holder 1, the goods can be removed, inthat they are moved forward along a removal direction R. In order todetect the removal of a good W from the goods holder 1 electronicallyhere and then to produce a removal sound only when a good W has actuallybeen removed at the front end, the goods holder 1 is provided with twosignal-producing means in the form of two swinging arms 12 and 13 in theregion of its front end. These two swinging arms 12 and 13 are bothpivotably mounted about a common pivot axis 14 on the holding section10. In addition, the two swinging arms 12 and 13 are formed and arrangedsuch that both swinging arms 12 and 13 are pivoted one after the otherin a pivoting direction when a good W is led along the holding section10 past the swinging arms 12 and 13 in the removal direction R, so thatit can be removed at the front end of the goods holder 1.

The two swinging arms 12 and 13, which here are pivotably mounted abouta mounting element, for example in the form of a cylindrical pin,defining the pivot axis 14, each project in the release positionillustrated in FIGS. 1 A to 1D with a bulbous, convexly curved controlsection 121 or 131 on an underside of the goods holder 1. The projectionof the two control sections 121 and 131 is chosen here such that afrontmost good W to be removed acts on these control sections 121 and131 one after the other during a movement in the removal direction Rand, in this way, pivots both swinging arms 12 and 13 one after theother in the same pivoting direction about their pivot axis 14. Thus,the two swinging arms 12 and 13 have different lengths and, as a result,the two control sections 121 and 131 are offset in relation to eachother in the removal direction R. So, the first swinging arm 12 is about25% longer than the second swinging arm 13. In this way, a good W movedin the direction of the front end of the goods holder 1 firstly makescontact with the control section 121 of the first swinging arm 12 andpivots the same in the direction of the front end in thecounterclockwise direction about the pivot axis 14. If the good W ismoved further in the direction of the front end, it makes contact withthe control section 131 of the second, shorter swinging arm 13 andlikewise, as a result of sliding along on the control section 131,pivots said swinging arm in the counterclockwise direction about thepivot axis 14, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2E.

The two swinging arms 12 and 13 cooperate respectively with a reedcontact 2, 3, in order to produce a removal signal during adisplacement. For this purpose, a reed contact or reed sensor 2, 3 isrespectively provided on the holding section 10. The respective reedcontact 2 or 3 is switched when the associated swinging arm 12 or 13 ispivoted out of a release position, shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, by a good Wmoved forward. A signal from the reed contact 2 or 3 indicating thepivoting of a swinging arm 12 or 13 is transmitted as a removal signalto an electronic evaluation unit AE. The evaluation unit AE ispreferably integrated on the goods holder 1 and accommodated in or onthe holding section 10, so that the goods holder 1 with the evaluationunit AE forms an autonomous structural unit, which is serviceablewithout further cabling and can simply be mounted on a (rack) wall.

By using the sequence of removal signals generated, the evaluation unitAE can assess whether a good W has actually been moved in the directionof the front end of the goods holder 1 and, for example, a good has notbeen moved in the direction of the rear end, for example when fillingthe goods holder 1. Thus, during a removal of the good W, the firstswinging arm 12 is pivoted first and then the second swinging arm 13,whereas during an insertion of a good W in the direction of the rearend, the two swinging arms 12 and 13 are pivoted in the opposite order.If, by using the removal signals produced by the reed contacts 2 and 3by the displacement of the swinging arms 12 and 13, the evaluation unitAE detects the fact that a good W has been moved past the two swingingarms 12 and 13 in the direction of the front end of the goods holder 1,the evaluation unit AE produces a goods removal signal WS. A removal ofa good W is acknowledged acoustically via this goods removal signal WS.Alternatively or additionally, the goods removal signal WS can bevisually perceptible. An output device coupled to the evaluation unit AEto output an acoustically and/or visually perceptible goods removalsignal WS, for example having a loudspeaker, a light and/or a display,is preferably likewise integrated on the goods holder 1.

The two swinging arms 12 and 13 in the present case are also part of aseparating mechanism of the goods holder 1, via which it is possible toprevent several goods W from being removed simultaneously from the goodsholder 1. Via this separating mechanism, it is ensured that only ever asingle good W can reach the front end of the goods holder 1 and can beremoved there as intended. The two swinging arms 12 and 13 have blockingsections 120 and 130 for this purpose, via which an individual good Wcan be displaced in the removal direction R when the two swinging arms12 and 13 are in their release position. The blocking sections 120 and130 are likewise arranged one behind the other along the removaldirection R and project on an upper side of the holding section.However, as a result of the goods W sliding along on the controlsections 121 and 131 of the swinging arms 12 and 13, the latter arepivoted, as already explained above. As a result of this pivoting,however, the respective associated blocking sections 120 and 130 thenproject on the upper side of the holding section 10, so that movement ofa further good over the blocking sections 120 or 130 is not possible.Only after the frontmost good W has been removed as intended at thefront end of the goods holder 1 can the swinging arms 12 and 13 pivotback into their release position again and the displacement path isreleased again.

The control sections 121 and 131 of the two swinging arms 12 and 13project on an underside of the holding section 10, so that a good W tobe moved urges the blocking sections 120 and 130 more intensely upward.In order that a blocking section 120 or 130 and an associated controlsection 121 or 131 of a swinging arm 2 or 3 can project on differentsides of the holding section 1, the holding section 10 has a passageopening 100 for the two swinging arms 12 and 13 if the holding section10, as in the present case, is equipped with a preferably flat topsurface.

In order that the two swinging arms 12 and 13 remain in a blockingposition, in which a new movement of a further good in the direction ofthe front end of the goods holder 1 is prevented until a good W moved tothe front end is removed from the goods holder 1, the pivot axis 14 ofthe two swinging arms 12 and 13 is arranged close to the front end ofthe goods holder 1. Furthermore, the curvature of the swinging arms 12and 13 is chosen appropriately, so that a good W in the region of thefront end of the goods holder 1 and therefore in the region of the pivotaxis 14 still acts on the control sections 121 and 131 of the twoswinging arms 12 and 13. In this way, the swinging arms 12 and 13 cannotassume their release position again until the good W has been removedfrom the goods holder 1.

Although the two swinging arms 12 and 13 also permit a return of a goodW and an associated movement of a good on the goods holder 1 counter tothe removal direction R and a removal signal is produced hereby via thereed contacts 2 and 3, the electronic evaluation unit AE ensures that,in such case, no goods removal signal WS is produced. Said unitevaluates a series of removal signals produced and generates a goodsremoval signal WS that is perceptible by a customer and the sales staffonly in the case of a movement of a good W in the direction of the frontend of the goods holder 1 over the swinging arms 12 and 13. The goodsholder 1 this acknowledges only an actual goods removal with anacoustically and/or visually perceptible goods removal signal, but notevery return of a good W or filling of the goods holder with goods.

In a departure from the illustration in FIGS. 1A to 1D and 2A to 2E, adesign variant is provided to mount two swinging arms offset relative toeach other in the removal direction R on different, mutually parallelpivot axes. Here, each swinging arm is consequently pivotable about itsown pivot axis. In this way, the two swinging arms of a goods holder 1can be formed as identical parts. Given appropriate physical proximityof the pivot axis, provision can also be made here for a good W locatedat the front end of the goods holder 1 to keep both swinging arms in theblocking position until the good W has been removed from the goodsholder 1. However, this is not mandatory. In a variant having two pivotaxes for the two swinging arms, provision can thus also be made for onlyone swinging arm the front one with respect to the removal direction Rto be kept in its blocking position via the good W located at the frontend of the goods holder 1.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C show in different views a further design variant ofa goods holder 1 in the form of a rack hook. The goods holder 1 here, inaddition to an elongated, here rod-like, holding section 10, has astorage section 15 extending parallel thereto. The longitudinallyextended storage section 15 arranged above the holding section 10 herecarries the signal-producing means that can be pivoted respectivelyabout their own pivot axis 14 a or 14 b in the form of two swinging arms12 and 13. The swinging arms 12 and 13 are also formed and arranged inthis design variant such that both swinging arms 12 and 13 are pivotedone after the other in a pivoting direction when a good W is led alongthe holder section 10 in the removal direction R past the swinging arms12 and 13.

The control sections 121 and 131 of the two swinging arms 12 and 13 hereproject from the storage section 15 in the direction of the holdingsection 10. In this way, a good W moved in the direction of thefrontmost removal position in the region of the holding section 10necessarily comes into contact successively with the control sections121 and 131 and pivots the swinging arms 12 and 13 upward about theirpivot axes 14 a and 14 b.

To produce the removal signals, in each case a magnet element 122 or 132is provided at a free end of a swinging arm 12 or 13. This magnetelement 122 or 132 cooperates with a stationary reed contact 2 or 3 onthe storage section 15. Consequently, if a swinging arm 12 or 13 ispivoted by the good W led past the same and, as a result, the respectivemagnet element 122 or 132 is spaced apart from the associated reedcontact 2 or 3, the production of an electronically further evaluableremoval signal and/or a visually and/or acoustically perceptible removalsignal is associated herewith. The magnet elements 122 and 132 areformed as permanent magnets, for example, for this purpose.

The storage section 15, which is arranged above the holding section 10provided to hold the good W, can of course have cross-sectional shapesdifferent from the cross-sectional shape of the holding section 10.Furthermore, the storage section 15 can, for example, be equipped tohold a label at its front end. Moreover, the storage section 15 can bedesigned for the arrangement and accommodation of an evaluation unit AE.For this purpose, the storage section 15, for example, if appropriateonly in a sub region, forms a section configured in the manner of ahousing, in which not only the reed contacts 2 and 3 but also theelectronic evaluation unit AE or at least parts thereof are accommodatedin a protective manner. Such an appropriately housing-like configuredstructure of the storage section 15 defines a cavity within the storagesection 15, for example, in which the aforementioned components can beaccommodated and fixed. Such a cavity can then be closed with a cover,for example, which is removable for repair or maintenance purposes, forexample in order to change a battery provided for the autonomousoperation of the evaluation unit (AE).

In an analogous way, in the design variants of FIGS. 1A to 1D and 2A to2E, the holding section 10 provided here can be formed for thearrangement and accommodation at least of parts of the evaluation unitAE. For this purpose, the holding section 10 forms, for example,possibly only in a sub region, a section configured in the manner of ahousing, in which the reed contacts 2 and 3 and/or the electronicevaluation unit AE or at least parts thereof are accommodated in aprotective manner. Such an appropriately housing-like configuredstructure of the holding section 10 then also defines here, for example,a cavity within the holding section 10, in which the aforementionedcomponents can be accommodated and fixed. Such a cavity can then beprovided at a rear end of the holding section 10 with reference to theremoval direction R and likewise be closed with a cover, for example,which is removable for repair or maintenance purposes.

LIST OF DESIGNATIONS

-   -   1 Goods holder    -   10 Holding section    -   100 Passage opening    -   11 Fixing point    -   12 1st swinging arm (1st signal-producing means)    -   120 Blocking section    -   121 Control section    -   122 Magnet element    -   13 2nd swinging arm (2nd signal-producing means)    -   130 Blocking section    -   131 Control section    -   132 Magnet element    -   14, 14 a, 14 b Pivot axis    -   15 Storage section    -   2, 3 Reed contact    -   AE Evaluation unit    -   Opening    -   R Removal direction    -   W Good    -   WS Goods removal signal

1. A goods holder, on which a plurality of goods can be arranged onebehind the other in a movable manner, in such a way that a front good ofa row of goods arranged one behind the other can be moved in thedirection of a front end of the goods holder and can be removed from thegoods holder at said front end, the goods holder having at least onedisplaceably supported signal-producing means, which can be displaced asa result of a movement of a frontmost good in the direction of the frontend and triggers the production of a removal signal in the event of adisplacement in order to indicate a removal of the good from the goodholder, wherein two displaceably supported signal-producing means areprovided on the goods holder, which are displaced in succession in theevent of a movement of a frontmost good in the direction of the frontend, so that at least two removal signals are produced as a result. 2.The goods holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal-producingmeans are pivotably supported on the goods holder.
 3. The goods holderas claimed in claim 2, wherein the signal-producing means are pivotableabout a common pivot axis or each about its own pivot axis.
 4. The goodsholder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal-producing means eachhave a control section, past which a good must be led as it is moved inthe direction of the front end and on which the good to be moved actshereby, so that a displacement movement is forced on thesignal-producing means by the good led past.
 5. The goods holder asclaimed in claim 4, wherein the control sections of the signal-producingmeans are offset in relation to each other along a removal direction,along which a frontmost good to be removed is moved to the front end ofthe goods holder.
 6. The goods holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein thesignal-producing means are arranged beside each other transversely withrespect to a removal direction, along which a frontmost good to beremoved is moved to the front end of the goods holder.
 7. The goodsholder as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two reed contacts areprovided, by means of which two removal signals can be produced in theevent of a displacement of the signal-producing means.
 8. The goodsholder as claimed in claim 7, wherein the signal-producing means eachhave a magnet cooperating with a reed contact, or a reed contact.
 9. Thegoods holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least onesignal-producing means is displaceable by a frontmost good moved in thedirection of the front end of the goods holder from a release positioninto a blocking position, wherein the signal-producing means in theblocking position prevents a new movement of a good arranged behind thefrontmost good in the direction of the front end.
 10. The goods holderas claimed in claim 9, wherein the signal-producing means has a blockingsection which, in the blocking position, projects in such a way that agood cannot be moved over the blocking section toward the front end ofthe goods holder.
 11. The goods holder as claimed in claim 9, whereinthe signal-producing means is formed and arranged in such a way that itis kept in the blocking position by a good moved toward the front end ofthe goods holder until the good is removed from the goods holder. 12.The goods holder as claimed in claim 9, wherein at least twosignal-producing means are provided, which can each be displaced betweena release position and a blocking position.
 13. The goods holder asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the signal-producing means permit both aremoval of a good moved toward a front end of the goods holder andfilling of the goods holder with goods and/or pushing a good back. 14.The goods holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein an electronic evaluationunit is provided, by means of which, by using the triggered removalsignals, it is possible to evaluate the direction in which a good hasbeen moved.
 15. The goods holder as claimed in claim 14, wherein theelectronic evaluation unit is set up to output, in a manner dependent onthe removal signals, an acoustically and/or visually perceptible goodsremoval signal when a good has been moved in the direction of the frontend of the goods holder and the two signal-producing means are displacedhereby.